Sophie Lavaud

Sophie Lavaud
Lavaud in her 2018 K2 expedition.
Born (1968-05-15) May 15, 1968
Lausanne, Switzerland
Other name112000 Lady[a][1]
CitizenshipFrance
Canada
Switzerland
OccupationsMountaineer, entrepreneur
Known forBeing the first French person, first Canadian person, and first Swiss woman to summit all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks
AwardsOrdre national du Mérite (2024)
Websitewww.sophielavaud.com

Sophie Lavaud (born 15 May 1968 in Lausanne) is a French-Canadian-Swiss mountaineer and entrepreneur. In June 2023, she became the sixth woman,[b] the first French person,[2] the first Canadian,[3] and the first Swiss woman (second Swiss overall, after Erhard Loretan), to summit all 14 peaks of over 8,000 meters in elevation (eight-thousanders) and being 48th overall.[4][5][6]

As of March 2026, Lavaud is the only Canadian to have ever summitted all 14 eight-thousanders.

Early life

Sophie Lavaud was born on 15 May 1968 in Lausanne, Switzerland to French-Canadian parents.[7] She spent her childhood at her parents' flat in Argentière, a town situated in the French Alps, and learned how to put on ski footwear at the age of 3.[7] At age 12, she attended classical dance classes.[8]

Between 1986 and 1989, she studied at a business school in Lyon, before going to Milan.[7] She worked in an inn, then a store selling luxury goods, and later moved to Geneva for her new job as the sales and marketing director for Le Richemond.[9][10]

Mountaineering career

In 2004, being offered a friendly challenge, Lavaud climbed the highest mountain in the Alps and discovered her passion for mountaineering, even though "nothing had really prepared her for it."[10]

Eight years later in 2012, Lavaud became the first Geneva woman to summit two peaks of over 8,000 meters in elevation (eight-thousanders) — Shishapangma (foresummit) and Cho Oyu — in a single season.[9] In 2016, she reached her fifth eight-thousander, becoming one of the very few women to do so.[10]

In May 2014, she attempted to summit the Everest through the northern path. Fellow mountaineer and high-elevation mountain guide François Damilano went with her to film a 52-minute documentary titled "On a climb to the Everest".[11] She later recalled her experience in the 2016 film "K2, Une journée particulière".[12][13]

In July 2018, after a 2-year delay due to an avalanche, she successfully summited the K2, becoming the first Swiss woman to do so.[13]

In Spring 2019, Lavaud broke her previous record of summiting two eight-thousanders in a season by an additional mountain, by summiting the Annapurna I (8091 m) in 23 April, then Kangchenjunga (8585 m) in 15 May, and later Gasherbrum I (8068 m) in 12 July.[7][14]

In May 2022, she reached the Lhotse (8516 m), the 4th tallest mountain in the world. A month later, she intended to attempt the Nanga Parbat (8126 m) in Pakistan, though this was never made until a year later.[15]

On 1 October 2022, she summited the Manaslu (8163 m),[16] and later re-summited Shishapangma to the true summit (8027 m) in April 2023.[17]

On 23 June 2023, Lavaud summited the Nanga Parbat, completing all 14 eight-thousanders, and becoming the first French person, first Canadian, and first Swiss woman to do so.[18] As a result, she was awarded the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government on 23 May 2024.[19]

Timeline of eight-thousander summits

  1. Shishapangma (foresummit, 8013 m), 14th tallest mountain, 11 May 2012
  2. Cho Oyu (8188 m), 6th tallest mountain, 25 May 2012[9][20]
  3. Everest, tallest mountain, 25 May 2014
  4. Gasherbrum II (8035 m), 13th tallest mountain, 16 July 2015
  5. Makalu (8485 m), 5th tallest mountain, 25 May 2016[21][22]
  6. Broad Peak (8051 m), 12th tallest mountain, 11 July 2017
  7. K2 (8611 m), 2nd tallest mountain, 21 July 2018[23][24][25][26][27]
  8. Annapurna I (8091 m), 10th tallest mountain, 23 April 2019
  9. Kangchenjunga (8586 m), 3rd tallest mountain, 15 May 2019
  10. Gasherbrum I (8068 m), 11th tallest mountain, 12 July 2019
  11. Dhaulagiri (8167 m, Nepal), 7th tallest mountain, 1 October 2021
  12. Lhotse (8516 m), 4th tallest mountain, 14 May 2022
  13. Manaslu, (8163 m), 8th tallest mountain, 1 October 2022[16]
  14. Shishapangma, (true summit, 8027 m), 14th tallest mountain, 26 April 2023[17]
  15. Nanga Parbat (8125 m), 9th tallest mountain, 26 June 2023[28]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Derived from 14 times 8000, referring to her accomplishment of summiting all 14 eight-thousanders
  2. ↑ Excluding Oh Eun-sun's claim

References

  1. ↑ "Women's Day Spotlight: Backing Sophie Lavaud's expedition". Union Bancaire Privée.
  2. ↑ ""Il faut en avoir pour arriver là-haut" : Sophie Lavaud, première Française à avoir gravi les 14 sommets de plus de 8000 mètres, se confie dans le podcast Expertes à la Une | TF1 Info". www.tf1info.fr (in French). 17 December 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  3. ↑ Bergeron, Ian (24 July 2024). "Sophie Lavaud – première Canadienne au sommet des 14 8000m". EscaladeQuebec.com (in French). Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Sophie Lavaud, first French mountaineer to climb all the peaks over 8,000 m on the planet – Liberation". Time News. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Benavides, Angela (26 June 2023). "Nanga Parbat Summits » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "A 17-year-old Nepali teenager scales the 'Killer Mountain'". Everest Chronicle. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Florence Luy (29 August 2020). "Sophie Lavaud, la « 88,000 lady »". La Gruyère (in French). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Sport matin - Portrait de l'alpiniste franco-suisse Sophie Lavaud, en quête de nouveaux records". rts.ch (in French). 16 November 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Antoine Grosjean (29 October 2012). "La Genevoise aux 16 000 mètres" (pdf). Tribune de Genève: 32.
  10. 1 2 3 Christian Lecomte (16 December 2017). "Sophie Lavaud: «107 nuits sous la tente au-dessus de 5000 mètres»". Le Temps (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  11. ↑ Productions, Nomade (19 July 2014). "Watch ON VA MARCHER SUR L'EVEREST Online | Vimeo On Demand". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  12. ↑ Chaîne Voyage (22 May 2017). "K2, Une journée particulière". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Sophie Lavaud has become the first Swiss woman to reach the summit of K2". www.reyl.com. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  14. ↑ Caroline Christinaz (20 June 2019). "Sophie Lavaud, jamais deux sans trois". Le Temps (in French). ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  15. ↑ L.P. (16 May 2022). "L'alpiniste française Sophie Lavaud gravit son 12e sommet de plus de 8 000 m, un record". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  16. 1 2 Expéditions Live (3 October 2022). "Sophie Lavaud atteint le vrai sommet du Manaslu". Altitude News (in French). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  17. 1 2 Vennin, Thomas (26 April 2023). "Sophie Lavaud au sommet du Shishapangma, son treizième 8000". Montagnes Magazine (in French). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  18. ↑ "Sophie Lavaud becomes first French person to climb world's highest peaks". RFI. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  19. ↑ @ConsulfranceG (23 May 2024). "Félicitations à Sophie Lavaud, himalayiste franco-suisse, qui a reçu les insignes de chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite, le 15 mai dernier. Elle est la première Française (tous genres confondus) à avoir gravi les 14 sommets de plus de 8000 mètres qui dominent notre planète!" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  20. ↑ "Interview Sophie Lavaud, l'alpiniste romande aux 16'000 mètres". Copré (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  21. ↑ "Un 8000 de plus pour la Franco-Suisse Sophie Lavaud". Le Dauphiné libéré (in French). 23 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  22. ↑ François Damilano (10 June 2016). "Les chemins de Sophie". Libération (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  23. ↑ "Une pionnière genevoise vainc son huitième 8000m". 20 Minutes. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  24. ↑ "Sport matin - L'alpiniste Sophie Lavaud aux sommets - Radio - Play RTS". Play RTS (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  25. ↑ Laurent Grabet (26 July 2018). "Un huitième 8000 pour Sophie Lavaud!". lematin.ch/. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  26. ↑ "Une suissesse au sommet". Léman Bleu Télévision (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  27. ↑ "La Franco-Suisse Sophie Lavaud au sommet du K2". Le Dauphiné libéré (in French). 22 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  28. ↑ Service sports (26 June 2023). "Sophie Lavaud, première alpiniste française, tous genres confondus, à gravir les quatorze sommets de plus de 8 000 mètres de la planète". Le Monde. Retrieved 26 June 2023..
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.